Yemeni naval forces seize Saudi autonomous underwater vehicle

Brigadier Aziz Rashed, deputy military spokesman for the Yemeni army allied with Ansarullah, told the Arabic service of Russia's Sputnik news agency on Monday that the AUV was remote controlled, and had detailed pictures of its operation zone.

Rashed identified the craft was of REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS) series, which are primarily used to detect mines and examine the shipwreck, and operate with WiFi and GPS trackers.

The senior Yemeni military figure noted that the AUV has an operational endurance of 24 hours, and can cruise at 5.93 knots (11 kilometers) per hour. It is used in reconnaissance missions and is capable of either storing information or transferring data via online connections.

Rashed went on to say that Saudi Arabia, through various means, is seeking to spy on the type and number of weapons in the inventory of Yemeni military forces.

On August 12, 2017, Yemeni naval forces, backed by fighters from Popular Committees, targeted and destroyed a military vessel in a missile attack off the coast of the country’s southwestern province of Ta'izz.